Arthur Askey Arthur Askey Arthur was born in Liverpool in 1900 and joined a touring concert party in 1924. Two years later, and for the next four years he became one of Fred Wilton's Entertainers at the Oval, Cliftonville. He started to make a name for himself in 1930 when he appeared with Powis Pinder's 'Sunshine'. In 1937 he compered 'The Coronation Revue' with Sir George Robey and in 1938 he became a household name when he starred with Richard Murdock in radio's 'Bandwaggon'. The first show was broadcast on 5th January 1938 and the show ran for three series, until 2nd December 1939. Askey and Murdoch provided the comedy which soon came to dominate the show. Many sketches featured them sharing a top floor flat in Broadcasting House along with Lewis the goat and several pigeons. Bandwaggon was the first radio show to popularise catchphrases, which were repeated until they caught on with the listeners.

Arthur's catchphrases included 'Big hearted Arthur that's me', 'Hello playmates', 'Ah happy days' and 'Ay thang yew'. There was also a film version of Bandwaggon released in 1939 by Gainsborough. The plot involved Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch running a pirate TV station in a ghostly castle and rounding up a gang of spies. A special edition of 'Bandwaggon' called 'Jubilee Show' to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the BBC was broadcast on 13th November 1947. During 'Bandwaggon' Arthur Askey's career developed rapidly. He appeared in a number of films and stage shows and became known for his silly songs such as 'The Bee Song'. Arthur also appeared in the Royal Variety Shows of 1946, 1948 and 1978. He was always extremely popular and was well known as a pantomime dame. His daughter, Anthea became an actress and she specialised in pantomime. Arthur's trademark was his spectacles and he was known as 'Big Hearted Arthur'. He died in 1982.

Arthur Askey - IMDb IMDb Doctor Strange Confirmed to Appear in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ 8 hours ago Actor | Soundtrack | Writer Arthur Askey was a diminutive British comedian, born in 1900. He began his professional career as a music hall performer in 1924, but it wasn't until 1938's Band Waggon (1940) (which lasted a full five seasons), that he became a household name in England. His film debut was in the 1937 British feature Calling All Stars (1937), but then, in 1939, ... See full bio » Born: a list of 100 people created 20 Nov 2010 a list of 737 people created 10 May 2012 a list of 38 people created 08 Jan 2013 a list of 10 people created 7 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Arthur Askey's work have you seen?

User Polls 1967 No Strings (TV Movie) Arthur Anders 1964 Ninety Years On (TV Movie) Billy Merson 1960 Arthur's Treasured Volumes (TV Series) Clarence Twinger / Corporal Fluter / Cavendish Pilbeam / ... 1955 Jack Hylton Presents (TV Series) Nurse 'Big Hearted' Martha 1952 Bet Your Life (TV Movie) Arthur Golightly 2008 Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (performer: "The Bee Song") 2004 Ladies in Lavender (performer: "Since Father Did a Broadcast on the BBC") 1944 Bees in Paradise (performer: "I'M A WOLF ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE") 1943 Miss London Ltd.

(performer: "A Fine How Do You Do", "The Moth" (uncredited), "I'm Only Me", "You Too Can Have A Lovely Romance") 1942 King Arthur Was a Gentleman (performer: "You Know What King Arthur Said", "Honey On My Mind", "Why Can't It Happen To Me?") 1941 I Thank You (performer: "Hello To The Sun", "Half Of Everything Is Yours") 1941 The Ghost Train (performer: "The Seaside Band", "Oh Dear what can the matter be" (uncredited)) 1940 Band Waggon (performer: "The Only One Who's Difficult Is You" (1940), "A Pretty Bird" (1940), "Boomps-A-Daisy" (1940), "Big Hearted Arthur" (uncredited), "Old King Cole" (uncredited)) Hide Arthur Askey - Follow The White Line / FDR Jones (1940) - YouTube Arthur Askey - Follow The White Line / FDR Jones (1940) Want to watch this again later?

Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Jun 24, 2012 FDR Jones was a Flanagan & Allen song, which they also recorded. Arthur Bowden Askey CBE (6 June 1900 -- 16 November 1982) was a prominent English comedian and actor. Askey's humour owed much to the playfulness of the characters he portrayed, his improvising, and his use of catchphrases, as parodied by the Arthur Atkinson character in The Fast Show. His catchphrases included "Hello playmates!", "I thank you all" (pronounced "Ay-Thang-Yaw'll"), and "Before your very eyes". He was known as "Big-Hearted Arthur".

Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey (d.1958), secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden (d.1949), of Knutsford, Cheshire. Six months after his birth the family moved to 90 Rosslyn Street, Liverpool. Askey was educated at St. Michael's Council School (1905--11) and the Liverpool Institute for Boys (1911--16), where he was known for winning an egg and spoon race at a school sports day. He was very small at 5' 2" (1.58 m), with a breezy, smiling personality, and wore distinctive horn-rimmed glasses. He served in the armed forces in World War I and performed in army entertainments. After working as a clerk for Liverpool Corporation, Education Department, he was in a touring concert party and the music halls, but he rose to stardom in 1938 through his role in the first regular radio comedy series, Band Waggon on the BBC.

Band Waggon began as a variety show, but had been unsuccessful until Askey and his partner, Richard Murdoch, took on a larger role in the writing. In the early 1930s, Askey appeared on an early form of BBC television — the spinning disc invented by John Logie Baird that scanned vertically and had only thirty lines. Askey had to be heavily made up for his face to be recognisable at such low resolution. When television became electronic, with 405 horizontal lines, Askey was a regular performer in variety shows. During World War II, Askey starred in several Gainsborough Pictures comedy films, including Band Waggon (1940), based on the radio show; Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940); The Ghost Train (1941); I Thank You (1941); Back Room Boy (1942); King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942); Miss London Ltd. (1943) and Bees in Paradise (1944); as well as the popular West End musical Follow the Girls. When television arrived, he made the transition well. His first TV series was Before Your Very Eyes!

(1952), named after his catchphrase. In 1957, writers Sid Colin and Talbot Rothwell revived the Band Waggon format for Living It Up, a series that reunited Askey and Murdoch after 18 years. He also made many stage appearances as a pantomime dame. He continued to appear frequently on television in the 1970s, notably as a panellist on the ITV talent show New Faces, where his usually sympathetic comments would offset the harsher judgments of fellow judges Tony Hatch and Mickie Most. He also appeared on the comedy panel game Joker's Wild. His last film was Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse (1978), starring Debbie Ash. Soon afterwards, he was forced to give up performing, and had both legs amputated owing to circulatory problems. Anthea, his daughter by his marriage to Elizabeth May Swash (m. 1925, d. 1974), was also an actress and often starred with him. For many years, he was an active member of the Savage Club (a London gentlemen's club). He was awarded the OBE in 1969 and the CBE in 1981.

Askey carried on working until just before he was hospitalised in July 1982. Poor circulation resulted in gangrene which led to him having both legs amputated and he died in London's St Thomas's Hospital on 16 November 1982. Askey is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery. Category Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940) — The Movie Database (TMDb) Find out where to watch on Overview Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde starring Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch as Oxford 'scholars'. The film is one of many to be made based on the farce Charley's Aunt. Taking inspiration from a well-known Victorian play, a modern-day prankster poses as a wealthy woman in a ploy to prevent him and his friends from being expelled from college.

Featured Crew Band Waggon (radio comedy) on CD | CD41 Recordings CD41 Recordings BAND WAGGON / BIG HEARTED ARTHUR GOES TO WAR CD41-012 Audio CD + DL £10.00 CD41 presents a CD anthology of comedy and music from the celebrated 1930s/1940s British radio show, together with several vintage wartime recordings by resident comedian Arthur Askey. Band Waggon ran on the BBC between 1938 and 1940 made stars of both Arthur 'Big' Askey and Richard 'Stinker' Murdoch. Attracting almost 20 million listeners at its peak, the program also spawned a hit stage show, a film, and a host of deathless catchphrases including "aythangyow", "what would you do, chums?", "doesn't it make you want to spit", "don't be filthy" and "light the blue touchpaper and stand well clear". This digitally remastered CD includes the very last Band Waggon studio show from December 1939, as well as favourites such as Chestnut Corner and The Proposal.

Also featured are several of Arthur's trademark "silly little songs" including the evergreen Bee Song, and several topical comedy numbers cut during the Second World War, including Adolf (for which Askey was placed on a Gestapo arrest list) and Thanks for Dropping In Mr Hess, issued after the surprise arrival of Rudolf Hess in May 1941 - and immediately withdrawn by order of the government. The CD (and digital download) contains 21 tracks and runs for 72 minutes. The CD booklet features vintage photos and illustrations, as well as a detailed history of the Band Waggon show. A must for all nostalgia, variety and comedy buffs!. CD shipping options Tracklist: Band Waggon - final broadcast, December 1939); Chestnut Corner; The Proposal; Big & Stinker's Parkour Games; Moment Musical; Arthur Askey songs - The Bee Song, It's A Hap-Hap-Happy Day; Adolf; The Washing on the Siegfried Line; What A Nice Lot of Nazis; I Wanna Banana; Get In Your Shelter; The Thing-Ummy-Bob; Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major; Thanks For Dropping In Mr Hess; When That Man Is Dead & Gone.

Reviews: "Celebrated radio comedy, including favourites such as Chestnut Corner and The Proposal. Our recommended buy" (Best of British, 07/2006) BAND WAGGON CD liner notes by James Hayward Born in Liverpool on 6 June 1900, the diminutive Arthur Bowden Askey sang for wounded soldiers as a child in the Great War, and in 1918 spent six short months in the Welch Regiment in 1918. A humble clerk in peacetime, Askey formed his own amateur concert party group, and made his professional debut in 1924 as principle comedian with the Song Salad Party. He was first heard on radio in 1933, and appeared in his first film three years later. His radio reputation was boosted in May 1937, when he replaced Max Miller as co-presenter (with George Robey) of a BBC special to celebrate the coronation of King George VI. Irritated by Robey's appropriation of the best lines in rehearsal, Askey ad-libbed during the actual broadcast, earning official censure, but unofficial glory.

That same year the BBC Audience Research department discovered that dance band shows were not as popular as had previously been thought. Since the Corporation was planning to produce a new series of such programmes, based on an American format called Band Waggon, it was decided to broaden their scope by adding both a compere and a resident comedian. Producers Harry Pepper and Gordon Crier tossed a coin to decide on the latter: heads for Tommy Trinder, tails for Arthur Askey. The coin came down heads, but since Trinder was unavailable the lesser known Askey got the job, due in large part to his spontaneity on The Coronation Revue. He was teamed with suave straight-man Richard Murdoch (1907-1990), an actor and light comedian educated at Charterhouse and Cambridge, then working in review. Band Waggon debuted on 5 January 1938, and was the first BBC variety show to go out in a fixed weekly slot with a fixed cast. As well as dance band The Bandwaggoners, organist Charles Smart and veteran comedian Syd Walker, the show also featured slots such as What Do You Think? and New Voices, a kind of Opportunity Knocks.

After the first three shows were poorly received the script writer was dismissed, and Askey, Murdoch, Crier and Vernon Harris took charge themselves. The new format cast 'Big Hearted' Arthur and 'Stinker' Murdoch as supposed caretakers of the Greenwich time-pips, living in a fictional flat on top of Broadcasting House together with a goat named Lewis, and pigeons Basil and Lucy. Thus Band Waggon can lay claim to being the first British situation comedy. Askey and Murdoch's anarchic comic spots came to dominate Band Waggon, and the show was soon a huge hit. Other regular characters included Mrs Bagwash, a charwoman, and her daughter Nausea, although neither was ever actually heard. Nausea always fainted in front of the microphone and of her listeners heard only a thud. In fact Big Hearted Arthur was courting Nausea, but never seemed to get anywhere, for in 1938 the BBC had a strict code of conduct on such matters. Many episodes ended in physical disaster, in which the energetic Askey triggered the famous Band Waggon crash - in fact a large pile of assorted metal objects in a corner of the stage.

Band Waggon was also the first British show to employ catchphrases successfully. These included "Hello playmates", "What would you do, chums?", "Ah happy days", "doesn't it make you want to spit", "don't be filthy", "light the blue touchpaper and retire immediately" and "aythangyow" - the latter pronunciation picked up by Arthur from London bus conductors. Another popular feature was Chestnut Corner, in which Askey and Murdoch exumed ancient jokes for one last airing. "Big Hearted Arthur" also performed his trademark "silly little songs", including the immortal Bee Song. This would be his first record release after signing a contract with HMV, and was recorded in April 1938, just as the first series of Band Waggon ended. Band Waggon aired for two series, the first running to 18 shows (5 January to 4 April 1938) and the second for 24 (5 October to 15 March 1939). At its peak it was estimated that some 20 million people tuned in on Saturday evenings.

Such was the popularity of the show that canny bandleader Jack Hylton snapped up the stage rights, which opened - rather too hastily - at the Princes Theatre (later the Shaftesbury) on 26 December 1938. It flopped, but proved a runaway success at the Gaumont in Holloway, where it re-opened in January 1939, and was soon filling the 3000 seat theatre three times a day. A national tour followed, taking in Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Coventry and Liverpool, before finally returning to the London Palladium on 3 July 1939, with guest comedian Tommy Trinder joining in the fun. Askey later commented that Band Waggon was the first show of its kind on British radio to steer clear of eccentric characters: "I was myself and Dickie was himself, and millions of listeners believed in us and our flat." Indeed to such an extent that each week listeners sent in hundreds of letters addressed to the fictional flat above Broadcasting House. A third series of Band Waggon began to air on 16 September 1939.

Even Parliament noted its reappearance, with Sir John Simon welcoming this return to normality, and Sir Samuel Hoare commending the programme as a national pick-me-up. By now Britain was at war with Germany, and Askey announced the first programme thus: "Well, playmatesÖ I think it's a stroke of genius putting Band Waggon on the air. It'll make old Nasty realise what the British public will put up with. Anyway, they had to do something to give the gramophone a restÖ Old Stuart Hibberd's nearly worn out winding it up - and, of course, you probably notice how muffled it sounded for a few days. Well, they investigated and found there was a pair of Grisewood's socks pushed down the horn. They'd been there since the Savoy Hill days when the neighbours used to complain about the noise." By now the BBC had moved west to Bristol.

Although this first show made several references to the national emergency (charwoman Mrs Bagwash was now 'somewhere in Essex" on work of international importance, while her daughter Nausea was a barrage balloon "blower-upper" in Hyde Park, and Lewis the goat had been snatched by an ARP Decontamination Squad), later editions contained noticeably fewer references to the war. The last original radio episode of Band Waggon was broadcast on 2 December 1939, after which the show was replaced by Garrison Theatre, starring Jack Warner. Quite why Band Waggon was not revived for a fourth series remains a minor mystery. The most likely explanation is that the runaway success of the show on stage, screen and radio left Askey and Murdoch without sufficient time to write quality new material, and certainly the inferior script for the Band Waggon film released in January 1940 bears this out. However it would also seem that Askey was poorly advised, and pursued short-term financial gain over the longevity achieved by Tommy Handley, Kenneth Horne and others.

It hardly helped that war broke out, as Askey later recalled in his autobiography: "Everything was going my way and the only cloud on the horizon was another comedian called Adolf Hitler, who I had an uneasy feeling was going to spoil things for me and everybody elseÖ After fifteen years years' struggle to get my name in lights, came the black-out! To say I was depressed is to put it mildly." Directed by Marcel Varnel, with a script by Marriot Edgar and Val Guest, the Band Waggon film began shooting in August 1939. The plot saw Big, Stinker and Lewis the goat evicted from the flat above Broadcasting House, and obliged to move into ghostly Droon Castle, where they discover a haul of advanced television equipment. The pair decide to broadcast their own pirate show, little knowing that the kit belongs to a nest of Nazi (or are they Russian?) spies. Jack Hylton and his Band also featured heavily, but the film had little in common with the earlier radio series, and was coolly received. In March 1940 Askey and Murdoch recorded a Band Waggon derived sketch, The Proposal, for release on HMV, the proposal in question addressed to Nausea.

It proved a best-seller. Then at the end of April the pair (plus Hylton) flew to France to entertain the troops, and only narrowly avoided the Blitzkrieg unleashed in May. Askey's silly little songs had already taken on a more topical hue. He was the first to record The Washing on the Siegfried Line, for which he was placed on a Nazi arrest list, and followed this with Adolf, Kiss Me Goodnight Sergeant Major, Run Rabbit Run, I Wanna Banana and others. In 1941 his comic song Thanks for Dropping In Mr Hess was hurriedly withdrawn by order of the government. A further stage variant of Band Waggon played the summer season at Blackpool Opera House in 1940, and was broadcast on radio on 8 June, but soon afterwards Murdoch joined the Royal Air Force and the Band Waggon finally ground to a halt. While serving in the RAF Murdoch met Kenneth Horne, the pair teaming up for two further vintage BBC radio comedies, Ack-Ack-Beer-Beer (1939-1944) and Much-Binding in the Marsh (1947-1953).

A final Band Waggon was broadcast on 13 November 1947, as part of the BBC's Silver Jubilee celebrations, and a decade later Askey and Murdoch adapted the format for television. However Living It Up was not a conspicuous success, and ran for just nine episodes in 1957, despite the relocation of Big and Stinker's celebrated flat from Broadcasting House to the Associated Rediffusion building on Kingsway. Askey's initial film career lasted from 1940 to 1944, ending with the commercial failure of Bees in Paradise. Over the next three decades, however, he endured as a major figure on radio, television, variety and panto. Arthur Askey died on 16 November 1982. James Hayward We Never Had It So Good - Beside them is a bloke who reminds me of the comedian Arthur Askey in a black suit too tight for him. - Book Drum We Never Had It So Good by writerinthenorth Arthur Askey (1900-1982) was a diminutive, dapper Liverpool comic, schooled in music hall, who became a radio, TV and British film star.

He became famous in the 1930s with a radio show Bandwagon with Richard Murdoch. The show was successfully revived in 1957. During the 1950s and 1960s he also appeared in several sitcoms including Love and Kisses, Arthur's Treasured Volumes and The Arthur Askey Show. He was known as 'Big-Hearted Arthur' and had several catchphrases including "Hello, playmates," "I thank you" (pronounced "Ay-Thang-Yaw"), and "Before your very eyes". Listen to Arthur singing the novelty number that helped make him famous, The Bee Song. Arthur Askey - Hang Out The Washing On The Seigfried Line / Adolf (1939) - YouTube Arthur Askey - Hang Out The Washing On The Seigfried Line / Adolf (1939) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Published on Jun 24, 2012 Hang Out The Washing was recorded and released by many artists including Flanagan & Allen, Elsie & Doris Waters (Gert & Daisy), and many of the Big Bands such as Billy Cotton and Jack Hylton's. All with variations and additions to suit the personality of the performer.. Arthur Bowden Askey CBE (6 June 1900 -- 16 November 1982) was a prominent English comedian and actor. Askey's humour owed much to the playfulness of the characters he portrayed, his improvising, and his use of catchphrases, as parodied by the Arthur Atkinson character in The Fast Show. His catchphrases included "Hello playmates!", "I thank you all" (pronounced "Ay-Thang-Yaw'll"), and "Before your very eyes". He was known as "Big-Hearted Arthur".

Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, Lancashire, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey (d.1958), secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden (d.1949), of Knutsford, Cheshire. Six months after his birth the family moved to 90 Rosslyn Street, Liverpool. Askey was educated at St. Michael's Council School (1905--11) and the Liverpool Institute for Boys (1911--16), where he was known for winning an egg and spoon race at a school sports day. He was very small at 5' 2" (1.58 m), with a breezy, smiling personality, and wore distinctive horn-rimmed glasses. He served in the armed forces in World War I and performed in army entertainments. After working as a clerk for Liverpool Corporation, Education Department, he was in a touring concert party and the music halls, but he rose to stardom in 1938 through his role in the first regular radio comedy series, Band Waggon on the BBC.

Band Waggon began as a variety show, but had been unsuccessful until Askey and his partner, Richard Murdoch, took on a larger role in the writing. In the early 1930s, Askey appeared on an early form of BBC television — the spinning disc invented by John Logie Baird that scanned vertically and had only thirty lines. Askey had to be heavily made up for his face to be recognisable at such low resolution. When television became electronic, with 405 horizontal lines, Askey was a regular performer in variety shows. During World War II, Askey starred in several Gainsborough Pictures comedy films, including Band Waggon (1940), based on the radio show; Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940); The Ghost Train (1941); I Thank You (1941); Back Room Boy (1942); King Arthur Was a Gentleman (1942); Miss London Ltd. (1943) and Bees in Paradise (1944); as well as the popular West End musical Follow the Girls. When television arrived, he made the transition well. His first TV series was Before Your Very Eyes!

(1952), named after his catchphrase. In 1957, writers Sid Colin and Talbot Rothwell revived the Band Waggon format for Living It Up, a series that reunited Askey and Murdoch after 18 years. He also made many stage appearances as a pantomime dame. He continued to appear frequently on television in the 1970s, notably as a panellist on the ITV talent show New Faces, where his usually sympathetic comments would offset the harsher judgments of fellow judges Tony Hatch and Mickie Most. He also appeared on the comedy panel game Joker's Wild. His last film was Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse (1978), starring Debbie Ash. Soon afterwards, he was forced to give up performing, and had both legs amputated owing to circulatory problems. Anthea, his daughter by his marriage to Elizabeth May Swash (m. 1925, d. 1974), was also an actress and often starred with him. For many years, he was an active member of the Savage Club (a London gentlemen's club). He was awarded the OBE in 1969 and the CBE in 1981.

Askey carried on working until just before he was hospitalised in July 1982. Poor circulation resulted in gangrene which led to him having both legs amputated and he died in London's St Thomas's Hospital on 16 November 1982. Askey is buried in Putney Vale Cemetery. Category Arthur Askey, Comic Of British Stage and TV - NYTimes.com Arthur Askey, Comic Of British Stage and TV UPI Published: November 17, 1982 LONDON, Nov. 16— Arthur Askey, one of Britain's favorite comedians, died today. He was 82 years old. Mr. Askey had been in the hospital since July for a circulation ailment and recently had his legs amputated. The chirpy little comedian - a small fellow with big glasses and a booming laugh - began his career in 1924 treading the boards at seaside variety shows. He was one of the few concert-party entertainers to survive the transitions to radio and television. In 1938, ''Big Hearted Arthur'' became the BBC's resident comedian at $20 a week and quickly became a household name.

After the war, he remained a familiar face on television and became one of Britain's best-known pantomime performers. At nearly 80, he was still playing two performances a night in Christmas pantomime. He kept working until he was admitted to the hospital last year. ''Meeting Mr. Askey is a tonic, and he's about the size of a Schweppes bottle,'' a Daily Express critic wrote marking Mr. Askey's 50 years in show business. ''He still fizzes and sparkles inside his tumbler-thick glasses. And his laugh still sounds like the noise a paper donkey would make if it could feel the kids pinning on its tail.'' Mr. Askey said he kept on working simply because he enjoyed it. ''Acting to me is like breathing in and out - it's no effort at all.'' ASKEY Hello Playmates: Nostalgia CD Reviews: Musicweb(UK) Ev�ry Little Piggy�s Got a Curly Tail A Ballad Follow The White Line Having seen many comedians come and go it's the ones that have gone I remember most.

When I received this CD of Arthur Askey I relished the idea of having a really good chuckle at the little man in his prime once again and wasn�t disappointed. He was born in 1900 but his big break came in 1938 when the BBC decided to launch a comedy show to go with the great dance band shows of the time, of which I was a great fan. Gordon Crier, one of the two suggested BBC producers, suggested as compere Richard Murdoch, a song and dance man and juvenile lead in revue. But it was the choice of resident comedian that caused problems. Crier and his co-producer Harry H. Pepper suggested Tommy Trinder or Arthur Askey. The latter had, since he was 24, toured the halls in concert and it was Arthur they chose in the end and so began the legend of "Big Hearted Arthur" with his radio friend Richard "Stinker" Murdoch in the show "Band Wagon" that made their names. Though this soon became the comedy show best remembered the first few episodes were poor and the programme almost cancelled after the third broadcast.

During the time waiting for a replacement, Askey and Murdoch were able to do what they wanted with the time and their anarchic humour, based around the idea they were sharing a flat in Broadcasting House, caught on and "Band Wagon" was a hit. Whatever Arthur lacked in height he made up for in energy in the way he told his silly jokes, sang his even sillier songs and danced even sillier dances, as would later be seen on the stage and screen in a blossoming career that would last decades. It wasn't until 1938 that I really became aware of Arthur. I suppose like many people in the early 1930's, not in the habit of visiting theatres or spending holidays at seaside resorts where Arthur might be performing for a summer season, I have no recall of him during that time. 1938 also saw Arthur�s recordings, including "The Bee Song" in which he is accompanied on the piano by Kenneth Blain who wrote it. This is the song always associated with Arthur. It�s just plain silly and needs someone of Arthur's inimitable nature to capture the cleverness of it. The more you hear it the less chance you have of forgetting it.

Which is the reason why it is still so well remembered now after all these years. When "The Bee Song" is mentioned people always remember Arthur Askey. In the same month he recorded "Chirrup". This time Arthur wishes he were a tiny bird, so clearly this is meant as a companion to "The Bee Song" yet I wonder how many will remember it today. Strange that one song survives and the other didn�t. Arthur�s idea of a tiny bird needs to be heard to be appreciated and I can promise you will love it as he introduces all manner of peculiar sounds. I can even see that funny little man prancing about as he sings, and just occasionally breaking in and making a whimiscal comment. Much the same applies to "The Seagull Song" too. But this was recorded "live" in front of an audience in 1940 and really gains from it. Here Arthur tells a tale of a Seagull and as he sings "Fly away Peter, fly away Paul", the reaction of the audience is enough to tell you of the capers he is performing.

Kenneth Blain accompanies again and, as always, is to be admired in how he manages to keep up with Arthur who ends with his catch phrase "I thank you" which, of course, he delivers as "Aythangyou". Arthur clearly loved these bird songs and "sends them up" something chronic. In "The Cuckoo" this is particularly the case as he half sings and half narrates and it's real gem that, again, might have been forgotten had it not been for this release. The recording of "I Pulled Myself Together" quickly followed in the December and was written by Arthur himself. Arthur happily tells you how he needs to earn his daily bread as a handyman he tells us as he wanders down the street you hear him Tra, La, La-ing as he goes, at the same time describing in words of all the different jobs he tries but never succeeds in keeping any. Not a song to remember perhaps, but clever and bubbly as Arthur�s songs always were. In 1939 Arthur recorded "The Worm" with Ronnie Monro and here he tells us he is going to sing a song to something nearer the ground than he is.

This is another song that made me reach for the tissues to wipe my eyes. The orchestra is brilliant, by the way, as he tells the story of this wriggly specimen crawling about and I loved it. Very clever too is "The Knitter" recorded the same year. Then in the November, with the war now on, Arthur recorded two songs with a real relevance to the times. First is "We're Gonna Hang Out The Washing On The Siegfried Line". I remember this song so well and it�s as familiar now as when I first heard it. This was "The Phoney War" and most people had no idea what lay ahead that I think is reflected by the light-hearted nature of this song. "Kiss me Goodnight Sergeant Major" followed in that same month. How quickly that caught the public�s imagination too, though I have to say it was the type of song that often had its words changed into something the BBC would never have broadcast. I know this because my husband, a wartime variety artiste himself, sang a version that would have made a Sergeant Major blush.

Arthur was clearly busy in the studio that month because he also made "How Ashamed I Was" a really funny song and, for the time, rather naughty. It�s not so much the words, but how Arthur delivers them. The Orchestra follows him brilliantly too. Ronnie Munro was a genius for knowing when to expect an outburst of some kind from Arthur. "Sarah! Sarah!" is from 1940 also. This is another comic song and Arthur even starts it by telling you this is the other side of the record. Then in "Early In The Morning" notice again the references to people spending time in the air raid shelters. The war influences so many of these songs. Finally from November 1940 we have "She Was Very, Very Shy", a simple, funny little song about Arthur being in love with a girl who is so tall he has to climb a ladder to get to her face. War was raging all over Europe by the time Arthur recorded the lovely song "Its Spring Again" in February 1942. A simple song, but the best ones so often are and Arthur sings it beautifully perhaps reflecting the fact that by then people needed a little more escapism.

However, in the same month comes "I Want A Banana". You must remember that bananas were unknown in Britain throughout the war and so represented something symbolic of peace and plenty among the war and want. I do feel the two recordings on this disc from 1949 are somewhat out of place they were recorded when the war was over but Arthur is still being. "The Christening" tells of him going to this family occasion with all the family there. Needless to say, many comic things happen which Arthur tells you in his inimitable way. At the same time he recorded as B side "Ev'ry Little Piggy's Got A Curly Tail". Again a typical Arthur Askey song that he sings so well and is so able to break into a song and chat to someone without losing the melody. Not to be missed on this CD are three non-musical tracks. First is "Big and Stinker's Parlour Games" recorded in 1939. It�s Christmas and Arthur (or "Big" to his friends) and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch are singing a carol and deciding that with it being Christmas they will have a game.

Their attempts to find one they haven't played produces a sparkling dialogue typical of their comedy, though they do suffer from not having an audience present. Less than a year later they can be heard in another routine but this time in front of their "Band Wagon" audience at the BBC. This is "More Chestnut Corner" after a much-loved spot in the show and should tell you the kind of thing to expect. By the wild applause the audience clearly had a ball and the chit- chat between the two is fast and snappy. In fact as you listen, you may wonder how they managed to get a breath in. The timing is excellent, the jokes endearingly corny, though this was 1940 and people needed a good laugh. In July of the next year Arthur gives us a Monologue typical of the day called "The Channel Swimmer". This is another "rib-tickler" as Arthur tells of his offer to swim the English Channel to push the Nazis back in return for two Christmas puddings. How innocent we were. The reference to two BBC announcers (Alvar Liddell and Bruce Belfrage) will probably miss people under a certain age. Arthur Askey was born a comedian.

That small, bespectacled, funny little man with his cry of "Hello playmates" and "Aythangyou" was a confirmed workaholic. In between recordings and radio he worked with ENSA entertaining the troops. Later he starred with many well-known names on stage and made a number of films into the 1950s and 1960s. Some of these were more successful than others. Perhaps the most successful was "The Ghost Train" which he made during the war. I never fail to watch the repeats on TV of that great old movie. Arthur's career gradually wound down as he became older although he managed to appear in pantomime as a very popular dame and do TV right to the end of his life. I don't think he or his songs will quickly be forgotten and this CD, which I warmly recommend to all his fans, will make sure of that. So well done ASV for bringing these old recordings from the 1930s and 40s to such vivid life. The transfers are all excellent and I can say that having, in the distant past, heard some of them on their original 78s. Joan Duggan

Question: Which comedian/entertainer was known as Bighearted Arthur?
Answer: Arthur Askey